Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is a character first featured in the show Batman: The Animated Series. She first appears in the episode Joker's Favor and has commonly appeared in all Batman media since. She is The Joker's cute and beautiful henchwoman and before that was his doctor at Arkham Asylum. She loves The Joker despite being abused by him and will do anything for his approval. She also befriends Poison Ivy. History Origins Dr. Harleen Quinzel, a former career-oriented clinical psychologist whose life took a fundamental turn when she elected to spend a semester interning at Arkham Asylum. Initially drawn to the "charm" of the patients, she was surprisingly interested by the Joker. Growing tired of listening to other peoples' problems, The Joker opted to listen to hers instead. This changed Quinzel's way of thinking and The Joker was able to manipulate it using his charismatic and flamboyant behaviour. She broke The Joker out and became his criminal sidekick. Criminal Career Harley's first deed was to help the Joker in an attempt on James Gordon's life, by planting a bomb at his testimonial banquet. Batman defeated her after a short-lived bout. After that, she was an accessory in practically all of the Joker's felonious schemes. Occasionally, she would be kicked out of the ring when the Joker's temper got the better of him. On one of these occasions, she teamed up with Poison Ivy, and the two came to be close friends and an effective crime duo. known as the Queens of Crime, and the Joker grew angry after seeing how Harley wasn't there with him cleaning up the place, and how she proved him wrong. The Joker comes at their hideout where Poison Ivy tries to convince Harley that the Joker is wrong for her, and she needs to become independent. The Joker tries to take their money, but the Joker and the henchmen are vulnerable to toxins of the hideout. Ivy and Quinn escape, saying that “no man can take them alive”. Officer Renee Montoya then blew their tire and caught them herself. In one of her solitary spells in Arkham, Batman offered her a pardon if she would aid him to track down the Joker, who had taken a nuclear bomb. She did so, in a crazy, meandering way that ended up being nearly as treacherous to Batman and Robin as the Joker. She betrays Batman, upon arrival. Yet, she finds out, the Joker wouldn't have come back for anybody even her or the hyenas. She promptly betrays the Joker, and stops the atomic bomb plan. Her rage causes her to knock down the Joker. He then opts to taunt her, saying that she doesn't “have the guts” to kill him, but she grabs the gun and pulls the trigger. Out, comes a flag showing, "Rat, tat, tat," and he gives her a look, only to laugh happily seeing that she has the guts to be strong and even take out her love. After being pronounced as sane and rehabilitated by the doctors at Arkham, Harley was paroled, but her overactive temperament and inexperience with the "real" world led to a load of misfortune that led to her inadvertently kidnapping Veronica Vreeland and being simultaneously followed by Batman, Gotham gangsters, and the U.S. Army. She was returned to Arkham yet again, though Batman was more compassionate to her this time, realising how bad a day gone wrong could be. Relationships Harley's relationship with Joker was perhaps one of the strangest in the series. At numerous times, she explained her feelings for him as sympathy for his abusive childhood, tender feelings based on their therapy sessions, or simply that he made her life fun, after a stressful career as a psychiatrist. Her devotion was inexplicable because Joker seemed to return her feelings not at all, and regularly insulted and abused her. Occasionally she would break away from him, but these moments of clarity never persisted very long, and but a moment's kindness from Joker was enough to bring her back. Yet at the same time, Joker found her a useful accomplice at times, and was often surprised by the depth of her devotion. Harley had an on-again, off-again friendship/partnership with Poison Ivy, whom she operated well with. Poison Ivy has constantly had a soft-spot for Harley, often declaring that that Quinn has no need for the Joker. However, Harley never appeared to agree that Ivy was right, and would often fixate over him. This along, with her flaky character would often cause Ivy great bother, but never to the point that she would separate with Harley. Harley's emotional state to Batman were similarly conflicted. Most of the time, he was her enemy, which was natural given that he was Joker's enemy. Sometimes, she even blamed Batman for Joker's abusiveness toward her, feeling that Batman's interference was what kept them from living a "normal" life. Yet on one occasion, she recognized that Batman was one of the few people who didn't think she was hopelessly insane, and who had done his best to help her. Ironically, Harley was able to do the one thing Joker never could: Make Batman laugh. Harley was the primary caretaker for Bud and Lou, the pair of hyenas the Joker owned, whom she affectionately referred to as her "babies". Abilities and equipment Harley Quinn possessed above-average agility and fighting skills. She was an Olympic-level gymnast and acrobat. Harley also carried a variety of clown-themed tools, though they seldom proved effective. One of her signature weapons is an oversized wooden mallet which she swings around with surprising skill despite its unwieldy appearance. Another weapon in her arsenal is an oversized revolver with a cork in the barrel. The cork usually contains ropes to tie people up or knockout gas. Due to Harley's charisma and psychiatric training, she is also adept at psychologically manipulating others. Early in their partnership, Poison Ivy injected Harley with a toxin antidote, which rendered her immune to certain chemicals and diseases, and had the side effect of enhancing her strength and stamina, allowing her to survive normally lethal mishaps. Appearances * Joker's Favor (first appearance) * The Laughing Fish * Harley and Ivy * The Man Who Killed Batman * Trial * Harlequinade '' * ''Harley's Holiday * Lock-Up Video Games *The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Mega Drive/Genesis) *The Adventures of Batman & Robin (SNES) (cameo) *The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Game Gear) *The Adventures of Batman & Robin (Sega CD) Trivia *Harley is not a real blond as said in the episode Harlequinade. *Bud and Lou, her pet hyenas, first appeared in "The Man who Killed Batman." This is a possible reference to American comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. * During the episode The Man Who Killed Batman, Sorkin actually performed Harley's "Amazing Grace" on a kazoo herself. The producers gave her a kazoo and asked her to give it a try while recording the episode. Later they said it was lucky they'd managed to do it in one take, because they were all helpless with laughter as soon as she'd finished. Category:Villains Category:Multiple Show Characters Category:Female Characters Category:Characters